The Opening Drive: Week 12

“The Windup:” “The Opening Drive” Week 12 Script

We start “The Windup” today with a brand new edition of our “Opening Drive” segment.  This is where we highlight some of the sport stories making news in the Grant County area from the past week. 

We mentioned them on the show last week and now they will lead off the drive today as the Grant County Blaze won a state championship in men’s basketball during the Indiana Special Olympics last weekend.  The team traveled to Indiana State University last weekend in Terre Haute for the event.  The Blaze outscored their quarterfinal and semifinal opponents by a combined score of 71 to 48.  In the championship game on Sunday, the Blaze defeated the Shelby County Magic by a score of 38 to 31.  Jeffery Cotton led the Blaze with 17 points.  The Blaze are now 2-time defending state champions in the traditional master male level two for Indiana Special Olympics Men’s Basketball.  Blaze head coach Tim Becker led the team to an undefeated 10-and-0 record this season.

In college baseball, Taylor University First Baseman Ryne Otis won the N-A-I-A National Baseball Player of the Week award on Tuesday.  The Chronicle-Tribune reports the senior becomes the first in Trojan baseball history to receive the honor.  Otis batted nearly .500 on the week with five home runs and thirteen runs batted in to help Taylor go 5-and-1 for the week.  The first baseman leads Taylor in seven offensive categories and ranks just outside the top ten nationally for slugging percentage.  As of Wednesday, the Taylor Trojans stand at 14-and-10 on the year with a 7-and-1 Mid-Central College Conference record.  They will host the Bethel Pilots for a double header in Upland tomorrow starting at 1 p.m.

We finish off the drive today with what some may call a quiet winning streak in college softball.  It has been over 3 weeks since the Indiana Wesleyan University LadyWildcats have lost a game.  The winning streak reached 16-in-a-row after sweeping Goshen in a double header on Wednesday.  I-W-U now stands at 22-and-4 on the year and are off to a quick 4-and-0 start in Mid-Central College Conference action.  First year head coach Steve Babinski says the new “one inning at a time” approach has helped keep the team focused to win one step at a time and to never lose an edge.  The Lady Wildcats have a one-game lead in the MCC over conference rival Saint Francis and will play a four-game series against Cornerstone University out of Michigan starting today at 4 p.m. with a double-header and then concluding on Saturday with another double header. 

That does it for the drive today.  Make sure you listen for the Fortress Sports Update airing throughout the week updating you on all the local Grant County high school sporting events. 

Interview Questions for Mississinewa's Mark McFarland

“The Windup:” Week 12 Interview Questions for Mississinewa Varsity Basketball Head Coach Mark McFarland

I.                   High School Offseason

a.       We haven’t talked to you since way back in the middle of January about the Mississinewa Indians basketball team.  With that said, describe the final two months of the season for your team and what kind of momentum the team has going into the offseason.

b.      We hear all the time about college offseason or professional offseason but we hardly hear about high school sports and the offseason.  What’s it like for a high school varsity basketball coach in the offseason, what do you do, what are you telling players, and other activities between March and November.

II.                  The NCAA Tournament and the Final Four

a.       As a high school basketball coach, what’s it like to participate in March Madness as a fan – are you hollering at a team for making a simple mistake or just enjoying watching the games?

b.      Now, I have to ask this question – did you make a bracket?  And if so, how’s it holding up this year?

c.       We did get three local teams from the state of Indiana in Notre Dame, Indiana, and Purdue.  Indiana made it the farthest to the Sweet 16.  Purdue lost to Kansas in the 3^rd round to final four team Kansas.  And the Irish lost to Xavier in the 2^nd round of the tournament.  How would you describe the performance of the 3 teams and how well they represented the state of Indiana this year?

d.      One of the big early stories of the tournament was the 15 vs. 2 matchup.  Lehigh and Norfolk State upset Duke and Missouri respectively in 2^nd round action.  A 15 had only beaten a 2 four times until it happened twice this year…on the same day.  As a coach, what does it take for a 15 to beat a 2?  How in the world did Duke and Missouri lose those games?  Is maybe overconfidence a factor?

e.      There really wasn’t one team that we could declare as a “Cinderella” this year even though we had 3 double digit seeds reach the sweet 16 in Ohio, NC State, and Xavier.  Which of those teams surprised you the most in reaching the sweet 16?

f.        Let’s get to the final four…we start with the Ohio State Buckeyes vs. the Kansas Jayhawks.  Thad Matta vs. Bill Self.  Jared Sullinger vs. Thomas Robinson.  Without telling us who you think will win, which team has the advantage and why?

g.       On the other side of the bracket we have an intra-state matchup.  I heard yesterday that some media people in the state of Kentucky are calling this the biggest game in the state’s basketball history.  Louisville vs. Kentucky.  Rick Pitino vs. John Calipari.  Anthony Davis vs. Chane Behanan.  Once again, without telling us your winner, who do you think has the advantage and why? 

h.      We have four teams from four different conferences.  Conference realignment has been a big priority over the fall and winter seasons for college sports.  What does have four team from four different conferences say about the parity in the NCAA?

i.         We have Louisville/Kentucky…we have Ohio State/Kansas – without giving us your national champion, which two teams will be advancing from Saturday’s semifinals into the national championship game?

j.        By the end of this Monday night, April 2^nd – we will have a national champion in college basketball – who do you think will be cutting down the nets and why?

The Opening Drive: Week 11

“The Windup:” “The Opening Drive” Week 11 Script

We start “The Windup” today with a brand new edition of our “Opening Drive” segment.  This is where we highlight some of the sport stories making news in the Grant County area from the past week. 

“The Windup” wants to give a shout-out and congratulations to local professional bowler Ronnie Russell who is making waves overseas.  Russell finished fourth overall in the Kuwait Open in Iraq on Tuesday of this week.  He stood in 8th place after the 15-game qualifying block but put together a great string of games to finish second in the match play round with games of 299 and 289.  That performance pushed him into the championship round where he finished fourth.  Russell now ranks 18^th on the Professional Bowlers Association tour this season and has accumulated almost twenty-five thousand dollars in winnings this seasons.  He currently is in France participating in the Brunswick Euro Challenge and will return back home to Marion next week. 

Four players from the Oak Hill Girls’ Basketball team now have one more game on their schedule before they head to the off season.  Seniors Jessica Davenport, Tiffany Petro and Shancy Larson were selected for the Class 2A North team as part of the North/South Senior All-Star game.  Junior Danielle Thompson will represent Oak Hill in the Class 2A North/South Junior All-Star game.  Both games will take place on April 14^th at Lebanon High School with the junior game at 10:30 am and the senior game scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm.  Coach Todd Law acknowledges the performance of these players but also says it’s a testament to the Oak Hill team and that the Golden Eagles are a team to be recognized when it comes to high school girls’ basketball in the state of Indiana. Oak Hill went 16-and-5 this year and won the Central Indiana Conference with a perfect 7-and-0 mark.

We finish the drive today by celebrating two more sectional titles for local teams in the Grant County area…this time in Special Olympics basketball.  The Grant County Blaze and the Grant County Xtreme each won a sectional championship on Saturday at the Special Olympics Indiana’s Basketball Sectional at Taylor University.  The Xtreme defeated the ARC of Allen County Raiders, 46-to-19 in the level 4A Division Championship.  Meanwhile, the Blaze defeated the Delaware County Hawks, 29-to-12 in the Level 2A Division Championship.  These two teams move on to the Final Four in the state tournament in their respective divisions.  The Chronicle-Tribune reports the semi-final rounds will be played tomorrow with the winners in each division playing in the State Championship round on Sunday.

That does it for the drive today.  Make sure you listen for the Fortress Sports Update airing throughout the week updating you on all the local Grant County high school sporting events. 

The Opening Drive: Week 10

“The Windup:” “The Opening Drive” Week 10 Script

We start “The Windup” today with a brand new edition of our “Opening Drive” segment.  This is where we highlight some of the sport stories making news in the Grant County area from the past week. 

There are new state champions in the world of gymnastics that have Grant County connections.  Cherish Allen and Kendal Emmons won the state championship in their respective divisions last week in West Lafayette.  8-year-old Allen, who lives in Wabash, won the Junior D division in vault with a score of 9-point-7.  Gas City resident Emmons, who is also just 8-years old, won in the Junior C division in the high beam with a score of 9-point-6-2-5.  Both gymnasts participate with the Mid-America U-S-A Gymnastic group that calls Marion home.  While Allen and Emmons participated in the Level 3 state championships, the Level 5 state championships are this weekend in Indianapolis.  The Mid-America group will have 5 more gymnasts participating in the event.

In women’s college basketball, the National Athletic Intercollegiate Association, also known as the N-A-I-A, announced their All-American teams this week and the Indiana Wesleyan Lady Wildcats saw two names pop up on the list.  Senior Center Krystal Stoneking received first team honors while Junior Forward Paige Smith received an honorable mention.  Stoneking led the Wildcats with over 16 points and 7 rebounds per game for the 33-and-3 Wildcats team.  Meanwhile, Smith averaged 12 points and 6 rebounds per game while coming off the bench.  Taylor University Junior Guard Erin Guarneri also received NAIA All-American honors by making the honorable mention team. She averaged almost a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds this season.

We finish the drive today with Grant County’s connection to the N-C-A-A Division One Men’s Basketball National Tournament this week.  When 13-seed Ohio plays 4-seed Michigan tonight, two Taylor University alums will be on the sidelines coaching the teams.  1994 graduate John Groce is in his 4^th season leading the Ohio Bobcats. The former Trojan has been on the sidelines as a coach for 19 seasons now and has made the postseason in 17 of those years. On the other end of the court, 1976 graduate Jeff Meyer is an assistant coach for the Wolverines.  Meyer has been just as successful as Groce as his teams have made the N-C-A-A or N-I-T postseason tournaments in 11 of the last 14 years.  You can see the game tonight starting at 7:20 p.m. on T-N-T. 

That does it for the drive today.  Make sure you listen for the Fortress Sports Update airing throughout the week updating you on all the local Grant County high school sporting events. 

Week 10 Interview Questions for Radio Sports Broadcaster Ed Thurman

The Indiana Wesleyan Lady Wildcats had their best season in 5 years but couldn't come home with the national championship.  Tim Decker here, host of "The Windup."  Join me at 12:30 pm Friday as I'll chat with the radio voice of the Lady Wildcats Ed Thurman.  We'll look back at the impressive season and the NAIA tournament run for IWU.  All of that and more on "The Windup"...Friday at 12:30 pm...only on 94.3 the Fortress preparing you for the weekend in sports.

Want to see what we will be talking about?  Scroll down to see the questions I'll be asking in tomorrow's interview for Friday's show!

“The Windup:” Week 10 Interview Questions for the Radio Voice of the Lady Wildcats Ed Thurman

I.                    The Regular Season

a.       Before we get into anything specific, can you give your listeners some insight on your radio career and how long you’ve been covering the Indiana Wesleyan University Women’s Basketball team?

b.      The Lady Wildcats defeated NCAA Division I team Northern Illinois way back at the beginning of the season.  After calling that game, did you have an idea of how far this team could go?

c.       We fast forward now to the end of the regular season.  28-and-2 regular season record, 17-and-1 in the Mid-Central Conference, and number one in the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball polls.  How would you compare this team to the ones of recent history for the Lady Wildcats?

II.                  The Postseason

a.       After handling Taylor University in the first round of the MCC Tournament.  The semifinal round game against Saint Francis had many Wildcat fans on the edge of their seat.  With about 6 minutes to go, the Cougars were up 7.  A 14-4 run in the late minutes gave IWU an amazing comeback win.  What were your thoughts on that game and what did it show to you about the chemistry of the team?

b.      Steve Brooks gets win #350 in his career here at IWU after defeating Bethel in the MCC Tournament Championship game.  You’ve covered a lot of sports in your career.  How would you compare Coach Brooks to other coaches you’ve seen?

c.       The Lady Wildcats received the #1 overall seed in the NAIA Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa.  What were your expectations of this team going into the national tournament?

d.      After handling Menlo College in the first round, Indiana Wesleyan put a beat down on Friends University winning by almost 30 points.  At this point, the tournament is down to 8 teams and set up a rematch with Northwestern out of Iowa.  Were your thoughts different this year compared to last year in the chance IWU had?

e.      In this quarterfinal game, the Lady Wildcats fell down double digits but made yet another comeback to go up one with about 40 seconds to go.  As a radio broadcaster, what were the thoughts going through your head as the team made that impressive team against the defending champions?

f.        The team had 2 opportunities to take the lead back in the final 30 seconds.  Take us through what was going on and how the team handled the situation.  Was there anything they could have done differently?

III.                The Seniors

a.       33-and-3 final overall record.  An impressive final season for the four seniors of this team.  Ashley Brooks, Rachel Steinbarger, Krystal Stoneking, and Stephanie Burtch.  You’ve seen them play all season and in the past 4 years.  How would you compare this senior class to previous classes?

b.      Of these four seniors, which one impressed you the most in this final season and why? 

c.       Many people hear about Stoneking, or Burtch, and even Brooks a lot.  You don’t need much about Rachel Steinbarger yet she started all 4 years for Coach Brooks.  She wound up fouling out in her last game as a Wildcat.  Do you believe she was a quiet secret for IWU?  Why or why not?

IV.                The Future

a.       Those 4 seniors may graduate but there will be a new season next fall as the offseason now kicks into full gear.  Who do you expect to become the go-to players for next year’s team?

b.      Do you have an early prediction on the potential success of next year’s team?